Since Christmas is just a few days away, let’s talk Christmas cookies. I went to my first ever cookie exchange last weekend. I was the a-hole that rsvp’d “maybe” and then day of changed my “maybe” to “yes.” Sorry, Jen.
It was a yes in my head for a whole month, I just didn’t realize until day of that my rsvp status didn’t match my head. Like I said, I’m an a-hole.
BUT but I had a lot of fun because I got to talk to adults without my three year old getting possessive and telling me I’m not allowed to talk to anyone. AND I got to eat cookies and drink wine which are probably the only things I need to make me a happy camper.
I was in the grocery store and there were gingerbread men. I bought some so the kids could decorate them and turns out Jaryd is a major fan of gingerbread. Who knew.
I set out to make some gluten free gingerbread men. And, my friends, I did just that. They’re deliciously soft and gingery, with sweet silky smooth decorative icing, I present to YOU….. my gingerbread men cookie recipe.
Ingredients and substitutions to make gingerbread cookies:
- butter: I haven’t tested it with ghee or refined coconut oil, but I think either one would be a fine sub!
- coconut sugar: my favorite sugar for cookies! But, if you don’t have coconut sugar or don’t like it, another granular sweetener can be subbed in.
- agave nectar: for a little extra added sweetness. If you want, you can sub in honey or maple syrup instead.
- egg: to bind everything together
- almond flour: the base of our cookies
- oat flour: to give the cookies a bit more structure
- cinnamon: spice
- ground ginger: more spice
- nutmeg: give me spice
- allspice: alll the spice. See what I did there? Cuz, allspice.. and “all the spice” …ok you get it.
How to make gluten free gingerbread men cookies:
In a bowl whisk the butter, coconut sugar, egg and agave nectar until creamed together. Add the dry ingredients: almond flour, oat flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and allspice and mix together until combined.
Place the batter in between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it flat, in between 1/4 an inch thick.
Place on top of a cutting board or flat surface and put it in the freezer for five to ten minutes. You want the dough to be firm and not bendy.
After the chill time, remove from the freezer and peel off the top layer of parchment paper. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes.
Carefully transfer the cut cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with a fresh piece of parchment paper. I found it easiest to slide a knife under each cut out cookie dough to lift them up. Once all the cookies are transferred, bake for 10 minutes.
Place the leftover dough in between the parchment papers again and roll it out. Store it on a flat surface (I used a cutting board) in the freezer until you’re ready to cut your second batch of cookies.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to sit on the pan for five minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before icing them.
How to decorate gingerbread men:
Prep the icing: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar (I use this one) and 1 – 2 tablespoons of milk. Eyeball this step and add an additional tablespoon or two of almond milk to get a good icing consistency that is thick enough to stay put but thin enough to be piped out of an icing bag.
Transfer the icing to a plastic baggie or piping bag with a small hole tip.
When you’re ready to apply the icing, cut a small corner off one end of the baggie. Then, squeeze the frosting out of the cut tip to decorate the cookies as desired.
I did eyes, a smile, some buttons, and some decorative sleeves and pants.
More gingerbread recipes to try:
- Moist Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- Gingerbread Banana Bread (gluten free + dairy free)
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Waffles
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf
Recipe
Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies
The best gluten free gingerbread cookies you’ve ever had! So delicious, easy to make, and perfectly spiced for the holiday cookie season!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (ghee or coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works)
- 1 egg
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
Icing
- 3/4 cup Swerve confectioners sugar (regular powdered sugar or favorite powdered sugar substitute)
- 2 – 4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk the butter, coconut sugar, agave and egg until creamed together.
- Add the dry ingredients: almond flour, oat flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and allspice and mix together until combined.
- Place the batter in between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it flat, in between 1/4 an inch to 1/8 inch thick.
- Place on top of a cutting board or flat surface and put it in the freezer for ten minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Remove the top layer of parchment paper and use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes.
- Slide a butter knife under the shapes to transfer the cut out dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once all the cookies are transferred, bake for 10 minutes.
- Place the leftover dough in between the parchment papers again and roll it out. Store it on a flat surface (I used a cutting board) in the freezer until you’re ready to cut your second batch of cookies.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to sit on the pan for five minutes.
- Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
- Prep the icing: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Eyeball this step and add an additional tablespoon or two of almond milk to get a good icing consistency that is thick enough to stay put but thin enough to be piped out of an icing bag.
- When you’re ready to apply the icing, cut a small corner off one end of the baggie. Then, squeeze the frosting out of the cut tip to decorate the cookies as desired.
What are your favorite Christmas cookies? xo
Pin the image below!!
Hi!
First off, I want to thank you for making so many lovely recipes. I was diagnosed with Type 1 7 months ago and you have definitely helped me put together some amazing low carb recipes!
I was hoping to make these cookies around Christmas time, however, I just wanted to clarify the ingredient listing. You mentioned coconut flour but I cannot see how much I need to use.
Thank you so much!
Arianna
Hi Arianna!
I’m so happy you’ve found some recipes you like here!! Helping people with T1D find delicious and healthy food their whole family can love was the main focus behind this blog so I love hearing you’ve found it to be a good resource!!
I must have left out the coconut flour measurement. I’ll remake these before December to get the measurement right and update the recipe. So sorry about that!! xo
I need to make these for the holidays!! Could I possibly replace the butter with coconut oil? Thanks!
Interesting question! I was planning on making them this week. Ghee would definitely be a great sub. I’ll make a batch with coconut oil and let you know!! xo
Can i use coconut sugar as the sweetner and if so how do i adjust the recipe please?
Hi Carm,
Yeah you can definitely use coconut sugar. It should be fine, maybe take a couple tablespoons off the total almond flour amount. Another option is using honey or maple syrup instead of the agave nectar! Let me know how you make out! xo
Can I sub tradicional butter for ghee butter ir coconut butter? Will it work?
Butter and ghee are fine to interchange. Even coconut oil may work. I’d stay away from subbing in coconut butter though. Let me know how it goes!! xo